Why the Church Needs Elders

In January of 2023, air traffic in the United States was massively disrupted by a computer system failure, resulting in the redirection of thousands of flights. I was traveling to a conference with seminary students, and we were separated into two different groups during the reassignment for flights. Since I could only be on one flight, it would be several hours before I would know the whereabouts and well-being of an entire group of students under my charge. But one of the students in their number had served as a soldier in an elite military unit. I turned to him and said: “You are now on point; make sure they get to the conference. See you there.”

Elders Lead the Church Home

Christ has appointed leaders for His church and charged them to get His people home. These leaders are called elders. When the Apostle Paul gave his final charge to the elders of the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17–35), he commended them to God and His Word, to the end that they would be built up to their inheritance in heaven along with all the saints (v. 32). The vision of Christ’s Apostle was that Christ’s holy people would get to the holy city (Eph. 5:25–27; 1:11; see also Rev. 21:1–27), and their elders would guide them there (Acts 20:1, 28; see also 1 Peter 5:12).

In the Old Testament, elders were leaders of tribes, men of wisdom who sat at the city gate and judged cases for God’s people. They were the “fathers” of the community. In the New Testament, we find that Christ’s Apostles instituted elders for the churches they planted and discipled (Acts 14:21–23; Titus 1:5) and acknowledged their crucial place in these congregations (Phil.1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1). These are the leaders the Scriptures exhort church members to respect and even obey as they do eternally important work, for which they are accountable to God (1 Thess. 5:12–13; Heb. 13:17).

Elders Lead Together

Elders are referred to by different titles in the New Testament, each of which identify distinct responsibilities of one group of men who lead the church together. Paul’s charge to the group from Ephesus identifies them as “elders” (Acts 20:17) and “overseers” (v. 28) and tells them to “shepherd” or “care for” (v. 28) God’s church. His instruction to Titus about church order demonstrates that the terms elder and overseer identify the same group of church leaders (Titus 1:5, 7; see also 1 Tim. 3:1; 5:17). The Apostle Peter also exhorts the elders to shepherd God’s flock as they exercise oversight (1 Peter 5:1–2).

First Timothy 5:17 shows us that, within this one group of leaders, there are two kinds of elders: those who govern and lead the church and those who are set apart and supported by the church to devote themselves to preaching and teaching while also leading with their fellow elders. These two kinds of elders are distinguished in some churches by the titles ruling elder and teaching elder, the latter of which is often called *pastor *or minister.

These various New Testament titles tell us that elders are to be men of spiritual maturity and wisdom to serve as examples and exercise sound judgment for God’s family. They are overseers because the Holy Spirit has entrusted them with the stewardship of Christ’s church, and they are shepherds who are to lead Christ’s flock to provision and protection within the green pastures of His will prescribed in His Word.

Elders Lead as Courageous Stewards

Elders always remain undershepherds of Christ Jesus. They will give an account to Him for how they lead His church (1 Peter 5:4; Heb. 13:17). This means they must lead like Christ and not like the world that rejects His lordship (Luke 22:24–27). Their motives and manners in leadership must evidence that they know they are stewards—not the Sovereign—of the churches entrusted to them (1 Peter 5:2–4).

Their calling is to give themselves for God’s people, not to gain all they can from God’s people (John 10:11; Acts 20:35). However, the servant mode of the elders’ leadership does not mean they should lack conviction. In fact, a primary way in which elders must be prepared to give themselves for God’s people is by getting between the flock and wolves who would lead Christ’s church astray through twisted doctrine (Acts 20:29–30). While Christ’s undershepherds are not to be quarrelers, they have been appointed to teach sound doctrine and correct false teaching (1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:24–26; Titus 1:9). The elder’s charge is to lead Christ’s church by building it up and protecting it through the clear and courageous ministry of God’s Word (Acts 20:31–32).

Elders Lead as Followers of Christ

In order to lead for Christ and like Christ, elders must walk with Christ. That is why the Apostle exhorted the Ephesian elders first to “pay careful attention to yourselves” (Acts 20:28, emphasis added). If his ministry is to be empowered by God’s Spirit and have integrity for God’s glory, an elder must be diligent to maintain vital personal communion with Christ and to continually mature in conformity to Christ’s character and commands. The Apostle who presented himself and his ministry as an example for elders (Acts 20:17–20, 35) depended on the power of Christ in him to execute his ministry effectively (Col. 1:28–29).

Elders who lead God’s people to their heavenly inheritance provide footprints of spiritual maturity for them to follow on the way (1 Tim. 4:12). May the head of the church continue to give to His church elders who take the Apostle’s charge to heart.